“Boss, when is your VIP coming down?”
A young man asked.
“Hold your peace, Derek.
He will be here soon.”
Mia answered the young man.
In the inn’s common floor, there were Mia, Derek and two other members of her team.
Of course, there was the ever present inn keeper.
The four sat at a table near the stairs.
The inn keeper was at the bar.
His attention captivated by the book he was casually flipping through.
Derek, the young man could not stop looking at the stairs.
Every now and then, he turned his head that way.
The other two members of the team, a man and a young woman were much calmer.
Especially the man who looked to be in his thirties.
The young woman was focused on the dagger she was rolling between her fingers.
Mia wasn’t too concerned.
She was certain Neo would not ditch the meeting.
Indeed, he had not.
Derek, whose eyes had not left the stairs, was the first to see the young man coming down the stairs.
His steps were unhurried.
He moved with a steady rhythm.
Every step belied resplendent grace.
A longsword hung from his side, sheathed in a plain, black scabbard.
The others soon took notice of Neo, who looked carefree as he walked down the stairs.
The man in his thirties and the young woman shared a look.
The way Neo looked now was how their team leader looked sometimes.
That same carefree aura.
Derek, the young man, didn’t seem to share the same realization they had.
He glared at Neo who walked to their table and took the last seat.
“I did not arrive late, did I?”
“No, you joined us just in time.” Mia replied.
“Everyone, meet Neo.” Mia had a smile on her face as she introduced Neo to everyone.
Neo smiled as he raised his hand in a slight wave.
Derek snorted softly.
The other two gave a nod.
“Alright, let me introduce you to the rest of my team,” Mia said.
“This is Derek.” She gestured at the young man.
“He is an archer.”
“This is Sofia.” The young woman hid the dagger in her hand, and waved at Neo.
“She is a dagger expert.”
“This is Lancelot.” The man in his thirties who had been observing Neo gave a nod.
“He is a shield warrior, and our best defense in the true outlands.”
“Then there is me.” Mia pointed at herself.
“I use the longsword, same as you.”
“I am pleased to meet you all,” Neo said to them.
“This will be my first time working together with your team, and I hope for it to be a pleasant experience.”
He looked at them all, then his eyes settled on Mia.
“I will also make sure to do my best.”
Derek snorted.
“I wonder how much that will be,” he muttered under his breath.
Neo didn’t grace that with a reply.
“I will say you are welcome then,” Mia said.
“Welcome to the team.” Lancelot nodded.
“Welcome, it will be nice having you join us.” Sofia also welcomed him.
Derek only grunted.
“Let’s leave in the next hour.
We will rest the night at the East Immortal Fort.” Mia was quick to take command.
Neo didn’t argue.
While it would have been nice for him to take a longer break.
He didn’t have that luxury if he wanted to reach the peak of this mortal world.
The other members of Mia’s team had all cultivated more essence than him.
That might be why the one called Derek was being grumpy.
Neo could somewhat understand his discontent.
They might have cultivated more essence than Neo, but he doubted if any one of them could take him on in a fight.
Mia was a natural exception of course.
The two demons he met on his first entrance into the true outlands might have given him some trouble.
Which led to him being forced to use a technique that overdrew his essence.
That came mainly from the fact that he was unfamiliar with demons, and the fact that he had to do something he had never done before.
Kill.
That was his first time taking a life, and he was forced to take two in the same moment.
Something in him might have revolted at the action itself no matter how hard he had pushed himself to do it.
Now that he thought about it.
His first entrance into the true outlands reeked of something very dangerous.
Impulsiveness.
No matter how he viewed it now.
He was indeed very lucky.
No matter how many technique he had learned and mastered.
Performing them with essence and without was a whole world of difference.
No matter how talented he was, essence was something that was still new and somewhat unfamiliar to him.
Now, he seemed to realize why Mia had been astonished when he mentioned his entrance into the true outlands alone.
It was surprising, but also dangerously stupid.
He might be a combat genius, but he shouldn’t be testing fate like he did with that first entrance.
If those demons had been more experienced, and their teamwork had been better, it might have been a different ending altogether.
*
Adventurers traveled light.
They were in a carriage, and on their way to the East Immortal Fort in no time.
“Where are you from, Neo?” Sofia asked the question that broke the silence that permeated the carriage.
It was just the five of them inside.
It had been quiet since they got on the road.
Neo looked at Mia.
“We are from the same hometown,” Mia answered.
“Figures,” Derek grumbled.
“It doesn’t matter where I am from, that is all in the past,” Neo said, replying to Sofia.
“I guess so.” She shrugged.
“Why did you become an adventurer then?”
Neo blinked.
He wondered if she was just making conversation.
“I am trying to build something that would define me for a long time.
Becoming an adventurer offered me a path to do so.”
Derek snorted.
“Just say you want money and everyone singing your name.
Wealth and glory.
Reasons anyone in their right mind would become an adventurer.”
Neo only smiled.
Maybe this guy was just naturally this way.
It couldn’t be that he had something against him.
Right?
“Don’t trouble him too much.
We will all have a lot of time to know each other better.” Mia stopped any further conversation.
The East Immortal Fort was near.
There, they would rest for the night.
(^o^)
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